Morocco-born French Director Robin Campillo’s drama film ‘ 120 BPM’ or ‘120 Beats Per Minute’ has won the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which concluded in Goa on November 28.
The film, set in France in the 1990s deals about homosexuality and the AIDS epidemic. The film, starring Nahuel Perez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois and Adele Haenel, had its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. It had its India premiere at the IFFI 2017.
The Golden Peacock Award carries a cash prize of Rs 4 million (Rs 40 lakhs)to be shared equally between the Producer and the Director, Trophy and the citation.
Chinese director Vivian Qu won the Best Director Award for her 2017 film ‘Angels Wear White’. The film is about the travails of two teenage girls who are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a seaside town in China. Vivian’s hard-hitting social drama provides a social context for violence against women.
Best Director gets the Silver Peacock Award and a cash prize of Rs 1.5 million (Rs 15 lakhs)
The Best Actor (Male) Award goes to Nahuel Perez Biscaryat for his portrayal of AIDS activist Sean Dalmazo, an effective member of ACT UP to represent all the horror of the epidemic in the French film ‘120 BPM’ . A caring lover and firm in his beliefs, Sean isn’t simply an ideologue, but someone who binds his activism to the strongest will to live.
The Best Actor (Female) goes to Parvathy T K for her portrayal of a nurse who wages a battle for the release of her husband held hostage by the rebel army in the war-torn Iraq in Mahesh Narayanan’s Malayalam film ‘Take Off’. Parvathy, who hails from Kozhikode, Kerala mostly stars in South Indian films. She has won many awards and accolades including the Kerala State Film Award and Filmfare award.
Both Best Actor Male and Female are honoured with the Silver Peacock Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakhs each)
Mahesh Narayan also walks away with the Special Jury Award for his directorial debut ‘Take Off’ which focusses on the dramatic rescue of Indians trapped in Tikrit. Survival films is a genre of cinema in which one or more characters find themselves pitted against seemingly insurmountable odds and have to look within themselves to find the strength to escape/survive.
Special Jury Award carries a cash prize of Rs 1.5 million (Rs 15 lakhs), a Silver Peacock Award and the citation.
Bolivian director Kiro Russo has won the Silver Peacock for the Best Feature Film of the Director. Russo’s debut film ‘Dark Skull’ offers a darkly beautiful subterranean study in atmosphere and mourning.
Manouj Kadaamh’s Marathi film ‘Kshitij’ has won the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal. The criteria for the Gandhi Medal reflect UNESCO’s fundamental mandate of building peace in the mind of men and women, particularly human rights, intercultural dialogue, promotion and safeguard of diversity of cultural expressions.
One of Canada’s most celebrated art house directors, Atom Egoyan was honoured with the IFFI 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious award consisting of a cash prize of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakhs), Certificate, Shawl and a Scroll is conferred upon a master filmmaker for his /her outstanding contribution to cinema.
Egyptian born French Canadian filmmaker Egoyan’s work often explores themes of alienation and isolation, featuring characters whose interactions are mediated through technology, bureaucracy or other power structures. Egoyan’s films often follow non-linear plot structures, in which events are placed out of sequence in order to elicit specific emotional reactions from the audience by withholding key information. His films have been presented in several retrospectives across the globe. ‘Exotica (1994) ’, ‘The Sweet Hereafter (1997)’ and ‘Remember (2015) were screened at IFFI 2017.
The Indian Film Personality of the Year Award was presented to Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan amidst thunderous applause.
